The Worst Foods In America That You Should Avoid.

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If you ever wanted a guide as to what food to avoid, the NY Times has a great review up of “Eat This, Not That!” by Men’s Health editor-in-chief David Zinczenko, and they include a nice little list of some food no-no’s included in his book:

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We just got this book from the library, it’s great fun if a bit overwhelming. There’s no way I could remember all the rules of thumb (grams of sodium in cold cuts, grams of fibre in cereal, etc). You really need to see photos of some of this stuff to appreciate the true horror, mind you ….

Glad you mentioned the taco salad. So many people hear the word “salad” and automatically assume it is a healthy choice. The vegetables themselves are great, but it is the garbage we put on top of it that is enough to clot an artery!

Actually, Frugal Dad, it’s the bowl you put the taco salad in that is the big problem. I have experimented in the past with switching my calories over from primarily carbohydrate to primarily fat, and I dropped weight and felt a lot better. It’s just really hard to maintain because (1) fat calories are expensive and (2) there isn’t a lot of societal support for that kind of eating, which makes my own shortcomings that much harder to fight.

There are reams of research to indicate that a high-fat diet is actually good for most people, and it isn’t even about picking some mythical set of so-called “good fats”–the only fats that are really *bad* for you are trans fats. As for saturated fats or cholesterol, I know everybody says we “know” those cause heart disease, but I’m still waiting for some actual evidence where the data aren’t muddled and the researchers aren’t pursuing an agenda contrary to that of public health.

(I was bowled over to discover that not only are eggs not dangerous to one’s heart health, as the media have finally figured out, but that they are an excellent source of selenium, which is often touted as a mineral antioxidant essential to good health–but apparently, we’re supposed to pop a selenium pill instead of eat it in food, since egg yolks are still fatty, therefore “bad.” Odd, that.)

If you look at that list of foods you will note that in every single instance the food contains a high amount of refined grain ingredients and/or refined sugars. Several of them also possibly contain trans fatty acids, which are also bad for you. Take out the starch, the sugar, and the trans fats and you’re left with meats, vegetables, the occasional fruit, and natural fats. Calories or not, that’s a lot better for you. And all calories are not processed in the same way.